There have been quite a few questions asked recently about domain names, so I decided to answer some of those questions here.

1.  From an SEO standpoint, does it really matter how long a domain name has been in existence?

Yes, it really does.  If you have a domain name that has been on the Internet for a while, think hard about changing it just because you find a better name.

2.  Do keyword-rich domain names improve SEO?

Having keyword phrases in your domain name might have some impact on your SEO, but don’t make decisions just on that issue alone.

3.  Which registrar should I use to purchase my domain name?

Once you’ve established a lead-generating website, your domain name is critical to your business, and you need to be very careful about how you manage your domain names.

• Open one registrar account and purchase all domain names through that one account.
• Make sure you keep track of the URL where you established your domain account, and the username and password to login to your domain registrar account.  It may sound silly, but there’s nothing worse than not being sure how to get at your account.
• Make sure you keep the contact information in your account current.  If you change your email address and miss important notices, it could cause real problems.
• Set your domain names up for automatic renewal.  You’ll get an email notice announcing when the domain comes up for automatic renewal, and you’ll be able to make a decision at that point.  Better to disapprove the renewal than to end up not renewing a critical name in time.
• Choose a registrar that has a good reputation.  I have always been happy with the domain registration services provided by GoDaddy, and you’ll find a lot of good comments about them online.
• Choose a registrar that has a flat fee for registration and all the common things you might want to do with your domain, for example, changing the DNS Servers, redirecting the domain, etc.
• Don’t purchase a domain name through a vendor.  Your domain names are too critical.  Set up your own account so that you can access it whenever you want.
• If you did purchase a domain name through a vendor and you leave that vendor, you’ll probably need to move the domain name to your own account.  Most vendors use domain registrars that specialize in bulk purchases such as Melbourne IT.  Those registrars aren’t typically set up to handle individual owners and you’ll find it extremely expensive to keep your domain with that bulk registrar.

4.  Do the search engines care how long my domain name is registered for?

Yes, they do.  Domain names are cheap – if you plan to stick with a name for the foreseeable future, purchasing it for 10 years is not a silly thing to do.

5.  I got a renewal notice in the mail – why didn’t my registrar just send me an email?

Your registrar would send you an email.  Be careful of renewal notices you receive in the mail.  You can end up moving your domain name to a different registrar without realizing it!

Any mailed renewal notice I’ve ever heard of is a sneaky way used by some registrars to steal domain names from competitors.  If you read the renewal notice carefully, you’ll probably find something in very small print that states that the notice is not an invoice.  They don’t happen to mention that they aren’t actually your registrar.  If you send money to pay for your “renewal”, the registrar that sent you the notice will transfer your domain name away from the account where you left it.

There were more questions than I thought!  Part II comes out tomorrow!